Dunlop Announces the MXR M81 Bass Preamp Pedal

Dunlop has expanded the MXR Bass Innovations series with the M81 Bass Preamp, a pedal that packs a preamp into a stompbox the size of the company’s Phase 90. Similar to a studio preamp, the Bass Preamp has level controls for its input and output. The EQ section has bass, mid, and treble controls with a sweepable midrange from 250Hz to 1kHz for further tweaking.

The Bass Preamp has a Direct Out with a pre/post EQ switch as well as a Ground Lift switch. Its circuitry is all analog and includes the company’s Constant Headroom Technology to maintain a clean tone. It comes with a factory preset to operate in buffered bypass with both the EQ and Direct Out section active, but players who only want to use the EQ section can flip an internal switch to disable the Direct Out to allow for true bypass operation.

The MXR M81 Bass Preamp pedal will be shipping May 6th with a street price around $169.(Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated the M81 was already shipping – it has been amended to reflect the updated shipping date of May 6.)